White Sugar vs. Fruit Sugar: There’s a Big Difference

Editor’s Note: Cyrus Khambatta, PhD, lives with type 1 diabetes and coaches his clients in a non-traditional nutritional approach to diabetes management. The views expressed in this article are his own.

This is a Tale of Two Sugars: the metabolic difference between white sugar and fruit sugar.

As people with diabetes, the most important issue in nutrition is understanding carbohydrates. After all, from the moment a person is diagnosed with diabetes, he/she is told to count carbohydrates, because carbohydrates metabolize to blood sugar.

The more I work with people with diabetes, the more I have come to realize one thing: the term “sugar” is misunderstood. Unfortunately, “sugar” has become a catch-all term for anything that is sweet, and as a result, foods that are high in their carbohydrate value are often labeled as “containing too much sugar.” Because of this, I thought I’d write a quick article to investigate the metabolic differences between white sugar and fruit sugar in the hopes that we as a community of people with diabetes can begin to differentiate between the “good” and “bad” forms of sugar.

What Exactly is “Sugar?”

The term “sugar” refers to a crystalline substance that is made in a manufacturing facility and packaged for sale in a grocery store. Sugar is often bleached white, or sold as a brown crystalline substance.

Technically speaking, the term “sugar” has only one true meaning. Sugar = sucrose.

Sucrose is a molecule composed of 2 monosaccharides called glucose and fructose. When joined together, glucose and fructose form sucrose, what we call “table sugar.” See the image below for a schematic of this monosaccharide marriage:

Sugar manufacturing was invented with a single purpose in mind: to add a sweet flavor to foods.

Since the advent of sugar in England in 1099, the rate of chronic and avoidable metabolic conditions like obesity, diabetes and heart disease has climbed steadily. In a seminal work entitled “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration” written in 1939, Dr. Weston Price clearly demonstrates how remote civilizations that had access to white sugar, white flour and refined vegetable oil suffered from dental carries, deformed jaw structures, crooked teeth, arthritis and tuberculosis (1). More studies have demonstrated that sugar-sweetened beverages have a strong association with the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease risk (2).

Sugar has more disguised nicknames than you can possibly imagine.

In today’s world, product manufacturers have become very talented at disguising the word “sugar” and instead use other complicated words to mask it’s presence. Some of the most common nicknames are listed here:

Carbohydrates are long chains of monosaccharide molecules that can be hundreds to thousands of monosaccharide units in length. As opposed to sucrose, which is only 2 monosaccharides long, long chain carbohydrates take longer to digest than sucrose.

As far as carbohydrates are concerned, the longer the chain, the more nutritious it becomes. If carbohydrates were a necklace, each bead in the necklace would have the identity of a monosaccharide molecule. Some are glucose, some are fructose, some are xylose, some are galactose, some are ribose etc.

Misconception #1: Fruits Contain “Sugar”

Simply avoiding fruits because they contain “sugar” is a misinterpretation of their nutritional value. Fruits contain some simple sugars like fructose and glucose, however they also contain longer chain carbohydrates that take longer to digest and absorb. These carbohydrates come pre-packaged with 5essential nutrients that are absolutely required for optimal digestion, absorption and transport. These 5 nutrients are often reduced or eliminated in FAKE carbohydrates like breads, pastas, cereals and artificial sweeteners, resulting in abnormal metabolism and blood sugar spikes.

One reason why fruits are fantastic health-promoters is due to the presence of a host of beneficial plant compounds that aid in the digestive process. Unlike refined “sugars,” the carbohydrates in fruit are accompanied by these co-passengers, that confer a host of beneficial effects, including:

Vitamins

Minerals

Fiber

Water

Antioxidants

Why do these co-passengers aid in nutrient metabolism? The vitamins and minerals assist in thousands of cellular chemical reactions, fiber is food for your large intestine and helps slow the rate of carbohydrate absorption, and antioxidants protect against oxidative damage and premature aging in every tissue, including your muscle, liver, heart and brain.

Incorrect Statement: Fruits contain sugar

Correct Statement: Fruits contain some sugar but also longer-chain carbohydrates

Misconception #2: Carbohydrates Are Stored as Fat

In the ‘80s, fruits were considered a great food for optimal health. When the Atkins revolution took hold in the early ’90s, years of great dietary habits took a turn for the worst. Soon people were avoiding carbs like the plague, under the assumption that “excess carbs turn into fat.” It turns out that Atkins was only partially right, in that excess carbs do turn into fat…in most mammals but NOT in humans.

The process of converting carbohydrates into fat is referred to as de novo lipogenesis (DNL). In an excellent paper written by Dr. Marc Hellerstein, MD PhD (one of the world’s experts on carbohydrate metabolism), he argued against the notion that carbohydrates are converted into fat in humans, and that this pathway is only significant in smaller insects and animals such as bees and pigs. Using years of laboratory data, he states the following:

“Bees make wax (lipid) from honey (carbohydrate). Pigs fatten on a grain diet. Indeed, all organisms, from bacteria to mammals, have the enzymes of de novo lipogenesis. Because storage of energy as lipid is much more efficient than storage as carbohydrate, the presumption has been that animals use de novo lipogenesis as a metabolic safety valve for storage of carbohydrate energy present in excess of carbohydrate oxidative needs (ie, carbohydrate energy surplus).

Most experimental data in humans, however, contradict this view of the function of de novo lipogenesis. Initial studies showed little or no de novo lipogenesis after short-term carbohydrate overfeeding (3)…and under most conditions of carbohydrate energy surplus (4,5).

These questions and more arise from the observation that de novo lipogenesis is the pathway of last resort and that, at least regarding converting carbohydrates to fats, humans are neither bees nor pigs.”

In another article written by experts in carbohydrate metabolism, the authors state the following:

“Fat synthesis from CHO will not exceed fat oxidation after one high-carbohydrate meal, even if it is uncommonly large…These findings challenge the common perception that conversion of CHO to fat is an important pathway for the retention of dietary energy and for the accumulation of body fat (3).”

Those who study carbohydrates understand that carbohydrates are not converted into fat in the human body, however this information seems to be misinterpreted in modern society.

I’ve compiled this knowledge (and much more!) into a science-and-recipe-guide that focuses on a high intake of REAL carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables, and discourages the intake of FAKE carbohydrates from grains, cereals, pastas, breads, rice and artificial sweeteners. In addition, I show you why eating a diet high in REAL carbohydrates and low in overall fat can significantly increase your energy levels, reduce inflammation and help you achieve the body you’ve always wanted.

The information in this book is designed to significantly reduce your level of insulin resistance, and turbocharge you with energy so that you can be as active as you want to be. When you fuel your body with clean-burning fuel, the results are unmistakable. This 100+ page PDF guide is an indispensable resource that can help revolutionize your experience managing blood sugar.

Cyrus Khambatta earned his PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry from UC Berkeley and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 22, and has spent the last 11 years of his life studying pancreatic islet cell failure and insulin resistance. Often described as enthusiastic and passionate about nutrition and exercise, Cyrus works with clients across the globe through MangoMan Nutrition and Fitness coaching to teach the principles of attaining top-notch blood sugar control by reversing the root cause of diabetes - insulin resistance - instead of just treating the symptoms of high blood sugar. He is publishing the Carbohydrate Ninja Recipe Guide in the next few months.